Results
Title

Emerging Roles of Wnt Ligands in Human Colorectal Cancer.

Authors

Nie, Xiaobo; Liu, Huiyang; Liu, Lei; Wang, Yan-Dong; Chen, Wei-Dong

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and constitutive activation of the Wnt signaling pathway is universal in most CRC cases. Wnt ligands (Wnts) are secreted glycoproteins and fundamentally essential for the transduction of Wnt signaling pathway. However, the 19 members of Wnts in humans imply a daunting complexity of Wnt signaling and biological effects, and our understanding of their roles in CRC tumorigenesis is still quite rudimentary. This review will give an overview of the structural characteristics and maturation process of Wnts. The expression pattern of all human Wnts in CRC tissues, including Wnt1, Wnt2, Wnt2b, Wnt3, Wnt3a, Wnt4, Wnt5a, Wnt5b, Wnt6, Wnt7a, Wnt7b, Wnt8a, Wnt8b, Wnt9a, Wnt9b, Wnt10a, Wnt10b, Wnt11, and Wnt16, and their relationship with the tumorigenesis and the progression of CRC will be specifically summarized separately. Despite certain challenges, Wnt-based therapeutics for CRC emerge continuously and some are now in clinical trials. In conclusion, a deep understanding of Wnts is very helpful for a better management of this disease.

Subjects

COLORECTAL cancer; WNT signal transduction; CELLULAR signal transduction; LIGANDS (Biochemistry); ETIOLOGY of cancer

Publication

Frontiers in Oncology, 2020, Vol 10, pN.PAG

ISSN

2234-943X

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.3389/fonc.2020.01341